The combination of the extreme weather both at home and abroad and the cost of living crisis has led to more families ditching holiday plans for a fun day out closer to home – particularly at the UK’s hugely popular theme parks. And Nimbus Disability – the company behind the award-winning Access Card – has been on the front line for this shift in behaviour – handling thousands of new applications over the summer months from individuals and family members with accessibility needs.
How the Access Card works
The Access Card, recognised with The Queen’s Award for Innovation, is held by tens of thousands of people in the UK and beyond who register their accessibility requirements.
Powered by bespoke software, Nimbus Operating System (NOS), the system translates its holder’s disability/impairment/access requirements into symbols highlighting the barriers they face.
When booking tickets online, the NOS informs providers quickly and discreetly about the access requirements that individuals need without sharing further information about them with the venue.
This has vastly improved access for disabled people who previously had to provide benefit entitlement letters or invasive amounts of personal information each time they booked tickets for festivals, cinemas, sports matches and more.
The scheme is already widely recognised at major venues across the UK and beyond including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, Disneyland Paris, The O2 Arena and Alton Towers.
Application advice from Nimbus Disability
But Nimbus Disability Managing Director Martin Austin MBE has a word of caution for families looking to treat themselves in the final throes of summer.
He said: “Applications for the Access Card have soared this summer with the broad appeal of venues such as theme parks. Whilst booking tickets, individuals and families recognise that, by applying for the Access Card, they can then broaden their leisure experiences to so many other venues and experiences from music festivals to theatre shows.
We have however had countless applications from those who want to use their Access Card in the next couple of days to book tickets and this has put our team under a huge amount of pressure.
As a social enterprise, which is run by disabled people for disabled people, all Access Card applications are processed by someone who has personal experience of accessibility barriers. This is therefore not an automated and faceless process and the team have worked tirelessly to keep pace with demand.
I would therefore urge individuals and families who want to benefit from the Access Card to plan well in advance and contact us before their planned excursion rather than leaving it to the last minute.”
For information about how to apply for an Access Card, please visit the Nimbus Disability website.
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